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consumer23
Posts: 32 Forumite
I am renting a room off a sub letter. The sub letter has received notification from the landlord to vacate the property due to the non payment of rent (He owes the landlord 5,500 over the last 18 months). The sub letter is unaware that I know this. Should I still pay the rent if the sub letter is just pocketing it himself? After all the bailiffs could turn up at any point and throw us all out so any rent I pay could be lost (and due to the financial difficulty my sub letter is in, I'm unlikely to see my deposit again). The sub letter has not told me about the landlords intentions but still asks for the rent. I can't tell the sub letter that I know because he will know that I have been reading his mail (I could see through the thin envelope what was inside without opening it - aided by the use of a torch). As far as I understand this is not illegal, only when you open someone elses mail is it illegal.
Should I carry on paying the rent? Should I tell him I'm not paying due to the letter he has received, or should I stop paying and come up with a financial hardship excuse of myself? or something else?
Should I carry on paying the rent? Should I tell him I'm not paying due to the letter he has received, or should I stop paying and come up with a financial hardship excuse of myself? or something else?
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Do you mean you sub let from the tenant of a landlord
Or...
The tenant sub lets the property and you rent off the "Sub letter"
Either way I would suggest house hunting. It isn't going to end well.
Your contract with your LL is irrelevant to the one your LL has with their LL as is what he does with the money you give him0 -
At some point I believe you will no longer be able to call that place home...at what point you decide to stop paying rent is your decision, but whilst you continue to pay money to a "middle " person you could well be wasting it and certainly wont be gaining anything by way of being able to stay in the property longer.
You are not paying rent to the person who is the decision maker.in S 38 T 2 F 50
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need_an_answer wrote: »At some point I believe you will no longer be able to call that place home...at what point you decide to stop paying rent is your decision, but whilst you continue to pay money to a "middle " person you could well be wasting it and certainly wont be gaining anything by way of being able to stay in the property longer.
You are not paying rent to the person who is the decision maker.
So in effect he has been wasting it since the day he moved in. Who says his LL (middle man) ever intended to use the money to pay the rent? He could be using it for anything. It's irrelevant.
What is relevant is that the OP is unlikely to have the benefit of a room for much longer.0 -
Pay your rent ... maybe "just in time" drips and drabs to prevent paying, say, a whole month, only to find yourself penniless and on the streets the next day - but I'd leave if I were you.
There's no trust ... and it'd be bl00dy inconvenient if you were out all day and evening and arrived back at midnight to find a note on the door from bailiffs and you can't get your stuff until the following week.
Find yourself somewhere else to live, it'll be easier in the medium term.0 -
Do you have a tenancy agreement?in S 38 T 2 F 50
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I'd suggest you talk to him about it. At the end of the day you have very few rights and can be evicted in short notice. May as well be upfront about it and see what he says,consumer23 wrote: »I am renting a room off a sub letter. The sub letter has received notification from the landlord to vacate the property due to the non payment of rent (He owes the landlord 5,500 over the last 18 months). The sub letter is unaware that I know this. Should I still pay the rent if the sub letter is just pocketing it himself? - That's his right, nothing to do with you. After all the bailiffs could turn up at any point and throw us all out so any rent I pay could be lost (and due to the financial difficulty my sub letter is in, I'm unlikely to see my deposit again). - indeed. The bailiffs wont turn up for a while yet though, if it's just a notice at the minute you've got time The sub letter has not told me about the landlords intentions but still asks for the rent. - you still owe him rent... I can't tell the sub letter that I know because he will know that I have been reading his mail (I could see through the thin envelope what was inside without opening it - aided by the use of a torch). As far as I understand this is not illegal, only when you open someone elses mail is it illegal. - it's not illegal to open someone elses mail.
Should I carry on paying the rent? Should I tell him I'm not paying due to the letter he has received, or should I stop paying and come up with a financial hardship excuse of myself? or something else?0 -
Your first step would be to find a new place to live, as the bailiffs can be coming any day and you have no recourse if they arrive with and possession order in hand.
Then have a talk with whoever your tenancy agreement is with and let him know, you have found out that he is not the owner and ask him to provide a copy of the upstream tenancy agreement to prove he has rights to sublet (most of the tenancy agreement explicitly forbid subletting). Don't mention you know about the rent arrears on his end yet.
If he really had the right to sublet, you still owe him rent, regardless whether he is "passing it on" to the property owner. At that point let him know you are a aware of the rent arrears on his part, don't tell him how you know, just that you know. And make provisions to pay him rent on a weekly basis at the most. Best case scenario tell him that you are moving out in X days/weeks and he can deduct the rent due from your deposit (which you extremely unlikely to see back otherwise, assume it's not protected)
If he can't prove to you he has the right to sublet i don't think you owe him anything as the agreement between you was in bad faith on his part.
Going forward, learn from this lesson and first, never rent from someone who has no right to let the property and never let the LL off the hook for not protecting your deposit.0 -
there is a right to rent out a room / get a lodger.Your first step would be to find a new place to live, as the bailiffs can be coming any day and you have no recourse if they arrive with and possession order in hand.
Then have a talk with whoever your tenancy agreement - lodgers agreement. is with and let him know, you have found out that he is not the owner and ask him to provide a copy of the upstream tenancy agreement to prove he has rights to sublet- having a lodger is not subletting (most of the tenancy agreement explicitly forbid subletting). Don't mention you know about the rent arrears on his end yet.
If he really had the right to sublet, you still owe him rent, regardless whether he is "passing it on" to the property owner. - he owes him rent regardless. At that point let him know you are a aware of the rent arrears on his part, don't tell him how you know, just that you know. And make provisions to pay him rent on a weekly basis at the most. - that would likely get him evicted with no notice. Best case scenario tell him that you are moving out in X days/weeks and he can deduct the rent due from your deposit (which you extremely unlikely to see back otherwise, assume it's not protected) - it doesn't need to be protected
If he can't prove to you he has the right to sublet i don't think you owe him anything as the agreement between you was in bad faith on his part. - you're wrong, for many reasons
Going forward, learn from this lesson and first, never rent from someone who has no right to let the property and never let the LL off the hook for not protecting your deposit.0 -
Personally I would be tempted to speak directly to who the rent is owed to and find out where you stand, I wouldn't trust the person you are renting from to show you a true tenancy agreement etcAn answer isn't spam just because you don't like it......0
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